Friday, December 9, 2011

Final Post

In this class we discussed many internal and external factors that played a role in why individuals are motivated to behave in a certain manner. Through this course, I have become more aware of the certain behaviors and reactions that can be caused by various reasons. Just to name some examples, the type of personality a person has (introvert or extrovert) as well as the type of reward an individual is given for completing a task can play a major role in how an individual will behave and the decisions they will make. Individuals are also motivated by an array of emotions, drives, and instincts, while some are motivated by their addictions.
This class was by far the most interesting class I had all semester, and I found learning about the motivational factors one doesn't see every day to be the most interesting part of the class. For example, learning about those who are extreme thrill seekers. These individuals will do practically anything to fulfill their thrill seeking desire, like skydiving. Learning about individuals who exhibit hedonic reversal was also very interesting. These individuals enjoy things that are painful, un enjoyable, and often feared. I attached a video from the show Man vs. Wild that shows some of these exotic behaviors. (Not a video you want to watch right before or after eating)
Learning about motivation is both important and beneficial in understanding people. Understanding what motivates individuals, will prove to be beneficial with my future endeavors as a teacher and communicating with others in my society. By learning about what motivates people to behave or react in certain ways can help us to understand and relate to individuals on a deeper level, and communicate with them more effectively.

Links

Motivation

"The pleasure principle does not abandon the intention of ultimately obtaining pleasure, but it nevertheless demands and carries into effect the postponement of satisfaction, the abandonment of a number of possibilities of gaining satisfaction and the temporary toleration of unpleasure as a step on the long indirect road to pleasure" Sigmund Freud

"The consequences of an act affect the probability of it's occurring again" BF Skinner